Sometimes it’s nice to have someone hear you. Isn’t it? Don’t you just want to vent and have someone nod their head, not answering, just acknowledging. That’s kind of what Bo Stern does for the reader in Beautiful Battlefields.  Litfuse sent me this book to review and I couldn’t tell at all from the cover what the book was about.  Still, I knew it would be a serious, thought-provoking read just from the cover.  Bo doesn’t tell you to quit wallowing in your misery (at least, not at first). Instead, she joins in! She shares the biggest burden of her life, her husband’s fight against ALS, and what it has meant to her Christian walk. Feeling her pain is a momentary dismissal of our own; as the reader, I felt such a need to comfort her.   Rather than being a bubbly book that encourages the reader to perk up and count one’s blessings, Beautiful Battlefields is a somber reminder of the commitment that a Christian makes when investing faith and hope in Jesus.   I don’t mean that to sound dismal and depressing. It’s just a more grown-up devotional than I’ve been accustomed to reading.  This book would be a wonderful gift for that friend who is going through dark times.  It’s perfect for the mom who has a heartache to bear.  It’s a guidebook for getting through the day for the dad who feels completely alone as a single parent.  Whatever the situation, I think Beautiful Battlefields can address it.  Bo Stern gives the reader an action plan for putting one foot forward.  Even just counting the people in your support system can be an action step that will make a difference in today.  And after all, isn’t that what a devotional is all about?

I participated in the book tour for Beautiful Battlefields.